First extraction; last milk teeth

I had a stressful 45min today.

Kai was starting lunch when he decided to act on a shaking tooth on his left lower jaw. Then it got stuck - hanging out but couldn't be pulled out.

Brought him to the nearest dentist on the same stretch as Fairprice. After having to wait for a while for the grouchy receptionist and giving Kai's IC number, I was told that the earliest he could be seen was 2 pm or it would be tmr. Coz lunch time.

Hello, I reached at 12.40 pm and said his tooth was hanging out! Why couldn't they just tell me lunch time straight away and even ask for his details??!

Ok, our timing also sucks. I gave my details for 2 pm but the moment we stepped out, I asked Sito to help find another one coz my phone low battery.

Sito called three more in our neighbourhood and had two more unfriendly receptionists saying lunch time too. The third sounded very warm and understanding when she heard it was a kid ("Oh, milk teeth?"), and gave us a 1.30 pm appointment. It was barely 1 pm but we walked over immediately. We were registered immediately and beckoned in within five minutes. 

The dentist was a young lady, friendly and helpful. I was afraid Kai might be losing his adult tooth as my records showed I had the milk tooth in that position already, and there was another tooth right in front of it which might be knocking against it. 

But the dentist assured me that it was his baby first molar. She also looked at my picture of Kai's tooth box (which I hurriedly took before leaving the house) and told me that one of the teeth was wrongly placed. 

Phew!

Anyway, she suggested removing the first molar on the right side too as the adult tooth had already erupted in front of it. But we had to convince Kai -  he had never had an extraction before and was afraid it might be painful. In the end, the dangling one was more painful 🤷‍♀️ And the numbing gel tasted like candy :p

So that's it, Kai has no more milk tooth!

I took the opportunity to ask the dentist about braces. She herself does Invisalign for straightforward (ha!) cases; she assessed that Kai might be able to do Invisalign but would need a specialist to confirm.

We were done by 1.15 pm, a good 45min before the silly 2 pm appointment at the other dentist! This dentist is more expensive though. But I don't want Kai to suffer more. 

So now, it's time to research braces... We have time as he still has at least one empty space waiting for its adult tooth to emerge...

Hot hot Legoland

After a wet trip in March, we were rewarded with a super dry trip this time :)

But it was hot. Very hot. Too hot!

Wednesday, 11 June

Used a different car company this time, contact from JY. Car was Innova vs. the usual Starex. It was smaller but no less comfy, especially for a short trip. Best part was that it was a third cheaper plus we didn't need to get off the car to clear immigration. In fact, we tried using QR code for the first time - it was so quick! Good job, ICA!

Ride was smooth. Immigration was quick. Dropped off our suitcase and headed to Legoland!

So hot that even Kai had no objections to the observation tower

Yang and Yu took on the pumping role for the way to the rescue!

Boat cruise with brolly

Yes, my hat couldn't make it. It covered too low and I couldn't see. For this heat, my usual cap also wouldn't help. Happy to have brolly.

Sito sat with girls while his boys were playing a small game outside the city stage

Enough heat. We checked in, unpacked a little and Sito set up a console game that we bought recently just for Legoland stays! The kids played a bit before heading to AEON for dinner at our fave restaurant, Vivo Pizza!

They spotted this display

But we didn't watch the show. No time. Then last night, the Jackie Chan Karate Kid movie from over 10y ago was showing on TV so we watched it. Bought some lok lok - our first time! - and Blackball desserts after our usual massage and went back to the apartment.

They were enjoying themselves

Thursday, 12 June

Day 2 is always water park day! I just got my period, unfortunately, so I didn't get to enjoy the water on such a hot day :( Nvm, just watch the kids ba!

Silly Kai kept getting the bucket to pour water over him!

Waiting for the big bucket ~ every 15min

I hid in the shade while they spent long time in the wave pool

I was shocked to see this small one carrying this down the steps!

Coz Papa found a twin one, and Yu insisted on bringing the single one back instead of leaving it there. He looked so tiny... Later, Yang brought one up to play - he's big enough to do it safely.

The twin float

This time, we went to Paradigm Mall for rock climbing after our usual lunch at Tian Lai - yes, must eat crab :p But this time, I couldn't eat my full share of the two crabs coz I was too full! Anyway, Yang first suggested rock climbing. The brothers were also keen so we ditched AEON this time.

Awww, so sweet! Or just kidding?!

Yang was more fearful of heights so he went up to 4-5m max

Kai managed to reach the top twice - via the pink and then red trails!

Yu went up to about 6m; he couldn't get past the black part in the middle of the photo above. But good first attempt.

We had a funny ride home. I always tell them to put on seatbelts after entering a car. This trip, the driver said nvm, no one would catch us for not wearing seatbelts. Um, hello, I was more concerned about our safety than whether anyone would catch us! 

Kai didn't bother with the seatbelt at first. Then along the way, he suddenly looked for his seatbelt. Later when I told the boys that the uncle wasn't right when he thought I was concerned about being caught, and that it was because at the speed we were going (~100kmh at parts), any accident would be fatal without seatbelts, Kai said he saw the speed on the dashboard so he went for his seatbelt! Hope they all learn the importance of seatbelts..

The uncle also shot his mouth off on other things, like should find a job instead of studying, more important to earn money early. Wth?! But glad the boys weren't listening.

We all slept earlier. Too tired. Probably the sun.

Friday, 13 June

Back to Legoland. But too hot. We left for lunch at the new Nanyang Cafe, went to Sea Life to cool down, and took a few rides before we gave up and left for AEON. This Nanyang Cafe was so good! Sito had char kway teow, I had mee siam and the boys chicken bolognese.

"I'm worthy too!!" :p

Two boys were very bright :p

Watched a show to escape the heat - I like Kai's smile here :)

New flower display at mini land! Smelly Rafflesia

Sito and mf 💕 

Thanks to Yang, we have a nice shot of just the two of us :) This time, I was lazy and didn't gather us all for a family shot. Just play. Anyway, too hot to pose outside!

Top of the board!

Yu got over 300k points on Saturday but he was only third - stronger players present that day... I think I can play until fingers cramp and I still won't hit this kind of score!

Ice cream before dinner :p

Sito brought Kai and Yu to read at Popular while Yang and I sat outside. Yang had an itchy eye and was not feeling too good. We got him some eyedrops and it got better. 

Dinner was at Nando's. First time for the boys and they liked it! Yeah, one more option for us too!

This bola - doughtnut sandwich with custard filling - was yummy!

Went for massage again. Sito and I had even better therapists this time round. He's still not feeling his heels and I'm still feeling the soreness in my arches. Shiok! 

Oh, we also had a free supper at the massage place. Yu ate more siew mai than Sito *.* I didn't have anything this time though I had a nice kueh on Wednesday. Think it was in March that we first had some food before/after massage. The outlet always has them but we didn't try in the earlier years. Wasted haha! Coz quite yummy.

Blackball was on the late supper menu again. The kids said it was the last night so they stayed up late, even later than poor tired Mama!

Saturday, 14 June

Very soon, it was our last day... Like Friday, we split into two groups and I went with Yu. Yu was again the first kid at the boating school. 

Last we took this aeroplane ride was pre-COVID!

While waiting for Yu at the driving school, I thought I was experiencing what it was like to have an only child - there was time to focus on him and observe him. He drove carefully and stuck to the correct lanes. He gave way at junctions and was so pleasant the whole time :)

Sito book robotics slots for Yang and Yu. Yu and I barely made it there in time! This time, the system and sets were slightly different from March. Yu said it was easier in March. 

They had to measure number of wheel rotations etc

Cotton candy finally!

We went for a sit-down lunch at Nanyang Cafe. Sito had mee rubus and the rest of us had toast and polo bun. Yang and Yu had their wish finally - Milo dino! Next trip, we will have breakfast here :)

Fast forward to today...

We just dismantled five LEGO swords of varying sizes, breaking a few pieces here and there. Finally got the kids to agree to dismantling them by getting them actual swords from Legoland!

Posing with his sword before it was taken apart

Time to book our next trip? :)

Sweet sixteen

Not the kids, not yet. Us :)

Once again, posting late. And this year, we didn't even head out, haha! Getting lazy. Getting 老夫老妻 :p 

But mostly, we're tired with our holiday revision schedule for the kids *.* So we haven't been out this week apart from essential grocery shopping.

We're heading to Legoland again this month so maybe we'll have a nice dinner there? :)

Reusing a photo from our March trip here - strolling in the rain!

So yes, 16!

Updated 8 June

Sito reminded me that we had a nice breakfast at J65 just last Wednesday, our last long day without kids before term ended. But no photo!!

Mid year report

The year started with a flurry of activities and lots of uncertainty as our firstborn entered Sec 1. Now, the first two terms are over.

I'm happy to see Kai thriving in secondary school. 

Yes, he can still be quite blur when it comes to organising himself. First, we taught him to use the calendar to remind him of all the WA dates. Later, we had to tell him to check emails, Google classroom and WhatsApp etc regularly for updates on academic, school and CCA matters, AND update us if he needs to stay back in school etc.

And sometimes, he's just stubborn about things, or overly worried. Like D&T. His team creation did not work, and so he didn't take a picture *.* His team mate didn't bother. So we discussed and guided him on what to do. In the end, he asked an old friend for a photo to show in his assignment what it could have looked like and explained why it didn't work or something like that. It worked.

But he has been fantastic at homework and revision - we seldom had to nag him to do them, at most a reminder or a quick check on whether he had finished them.

In term 1, Kai forgot to study for his science WA. I think that worked him up for revision in term 2! In the end, he did very well for semester 1, with L1R4 of 10. His English alone was C6 so plenty of room for improvement. He knows that as well. Overall, we are all very pleased with his achievements this semester :)

Inserted para 8 June: While reviewing his 1A Chinese this week, he told me that his secret weapon was his own 笔记本 where he records phrases and terms for reference. He said he was forced to do this in P3. In P4, he wasn't sure if he needed to do this so he just did it. And the habit continued! I didn't even know!

We wondered if his lacklustre PSLE results gave him motivation to do better in secondary. If so, well, the PSLE results are super good then! In the grand scheme of things, PSLE is the least important exam.

There were two parts to his MTP - meet the parents session. Morning sessions were for teachers who wanted to meet parents. Afternoon sessions were for parents who requested to meet teachers.

We didn't get a "see me" note (haha!) which means he's doing fine. All teachers except English sent out PG blasts to parents to book afternoon slots. In particular, his literature teacher encouraged parents not to be too hard on the kids as this was their first attempt at literature - so nice!

We only wanted to meet his English teacher. Had to email his form teachers to find his email. Turned out that he's a relief teacher for the term as the original teacher in term 1 was on maternity leave. But she would be back in term 3.

Anyway, it's the same old - read. And the teacher also shared with us funny things that Kai did in class. Mainly about his social awareness. Um, like Sito said, a triangle is a triangle; we can only soften the edges...

Besides academics, he also did well in chess - his participation in NSI has been noted down in his report slip; now, they all keep report books at home and bring back the slips to file themselves. He's also participating in chess tournaments outside to gain experience even though he has been losing ratings overall. As long as he is interested, and can put his academics first, we will support his chess endeavours!

Things he made in D&T

Now, Yang. He did worse in term 2 than in term 1. We feel for him as he really worked very hard with us since the beginning of the year. He's such a sweet boy that it's hard to see him being disappointed after putting in so much effort :(

We asked his form teachers, also his Chinese and science teachers, at his PCTC - parents child teacher conference - how he was in school and how we could help him. He seems to have difficulty focusing. Sito has started meditating with Yang before bedtime. Hopefully that could help Yang over time. 

The good thing this semester is his constipation issue - with track and field as his CCA, he exercised and drinks more water. So he has been pooping twice a week quite consistently now. In the past few(er) times that the toilet was clogged, I found that the poop was softer, just big. So it looks like his issue is a big balloon (rectum, as referred to in a video on constipation) which will take time to shrink. Will continue to work on this health issue.

Finally, Yu. He had his first WAs this year, and so far, he has performed consistently good. But he failed Chinese compo in class a couple of times *.* Need to watch that bit if he wants to meet his goal of getting AL4 for exams this year. This boy has high expectations of himself... We shall see...

He also took beginner Malay in term 2 and practised a bit with YeePo fortnightly. A bit :p At the end, he asked if he could take intermediate Malay. Sure, if he's interested and can be motivated to study on his own, coz parents could not help at all! Then this boy said he wanted to take it so that he could play with his Malay class friends during lunch..!!!

At his PCTC, he was a different person! Quite unlike Yang who was still his usual self though less loud :p Yu said he was shy. Ha! Let him portray a 乖乖 image in school ba!

With results slips and after speaking with teachers, we started the term break with a trip to the science centre!

Birdly!

Need to wear a mask before putting on the headset

It's VR that allows users to feel like a bird! I "flew" very near MBS, helix bridge, floating platform, SG flyer etc. So cool to see them from height.

The boy who is not yet 1.4m for Birdly went to fight viruses in the same hall

Hahaha!

Us two retirees mostly sat around after Birdly. The kids are familiar enough with the place to roam on their own. Kai had his phone with him so it was convenient for us to find them too.

First laser maze experience

He asked if he did it like mission impossible, complete with the music. Eh, no way, boy. You crossed the laser beams four times, means can die four times in MI!

One of the last things we did was competing with AI to guess a drawing. Just nice five seats. We took turns to draw and guess. The AI is quite cool, able to detect writing under scribbles, and understand Chinese and hanyu pinyin! 

Just nice for five of us

Must try bubble tea robot outside science centre!

It was very cool to see the robot hands make our drink. The strawberry tea was yummy too and marked a nice end to our trip..

But no, we were not done yet. Went to eat and shop for Japanese curry roux.

Long time no eat Paradise Dynasty!

But no, they were not done yet. After three bowl of noodles and 20 xlb, they each had a hotdog bun from Ikea. Kai topped it with soy ice cream from Ikea too. On the way home, we found that OCK at the MRT station had reopened after renovations, and got them all some OCK. Back home, they had snacks while watching TV. Why are they still slim??!

Kai is now quite thin. I think it is due to him having more lunches in school. Canteen food for sure isn't protein heavy. He's missing out on all my double cheese burgers! Must build him up in June :) Yang has been gaining height and weight - he feels more chunky these days. Yu still eats very well so no issue, ha!

So there, mid year report on the Sito boys. We will still work hard during the term break, but we will also play hard hard! Hope for good weather :)

A special dragon boat festival

Coz Yang and Yu tried to wrap bah zang :)

I had originally arranged with Mother to wrap bah zang on Wednesday when the boys all came home late. Then a couple of weeks back, we were going through Yu's Chinese and came across a passage on dragon boat festival. This boy said he wanted to learn how to wrap bah zang. 

So I quickly rearranged to last Saturday. Yang decided to join us too as the alternative was to go with Papa who was accompanying Kai to a chess tournament. 

On Saturday, I prepared Kai's usual chess tournament day breakfast - prata with scrambled eggs - and also gave the brothers some eggs. By the time we all got ready, it was pushing 9 am - so late!

I had to swing by the hawker centre to get my usual pre-bah zang fix - glutinous rice from the economic beehoon stall. Few hawker stalls sell this and none near me! So by the time I finished my breakfast and started wrapping, it was 10 am.

I demonstrated wrapping once, and helped these two with their wrapping. They managed to put the ingredients in and made one fold in the leaves :) So they didn't wrap the thing fully but it was fine. I think they had a good experience and could try again next time. 

Yang had a softer grip so his leave pouch remained roundish

Yu gripped the leave pouch quite tightly so it was kind of flattened :)

I spent 1.5h making some 40-50 bah zang while the boys watched TV. Things didn't end there. As the bah zang went for their hot bath, they went to the playground downstairs. I went after them in 30 min to grab their lunch and my iced kopi - very very hot day!

It was more waiting for the bah zangs to cook and cool down, before we could bring them home. I put some aside for breakfast the next day and put the rest in the fridge.

It was a happy breakfast! Kai had two. Yang happily ate his bah zang - Mother marked out their creations with bits of ruffian string. He said he didn't know why he didn't like it last time :) Yu was sad that his bah zang wasn't pretty; it broke up as I opened it. He said he used to prefer outside bah zang to WaiPo's ones but now he had forgotten the taste of outside bah zang and this was yummy. So he had a second one - ok la, the two of them made small bah zang :) 

But that means I had only one bah zang. Oh well, I could eat less... I'm just happy that all three of them like it :) This tradition can then carry on :)